"This morning, US Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers assisted US Department of State Diplomatic Security Service Special Agents in executing federal arrests warrants against individuals who were inside the Venezuelan Embassy", the Secret Service statement said.

He said that parties in Norway were attempting to mediate the crisis, but he said no agreements have been reached and no face-to-face talks with government representatives were being held.

But as the crisis has dragged on, and a short-lived uprising against Maduro failed earlier this month, the opposition's stance may have softened.

In January, tensions worsened after opposition figure Juan Guaido, who is also president of the National Assembly, unilaterally declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela.

When asked about the talks in Norway, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York: "We're very much aware of what is going on and very much supportive of this process". But many sectors of the opposition remain skeptical, arguing that Maduro has in the past used dialogue as a stalling tactic to maintain his grip on power as living standards steadily declined in the oil-rich nation.

Vecchio also said his team has secured control all six diplomatic buildings owned by the Republic of Venezuela in US territory, five in the nation's capital and the consulate in New York City.

Many worldwide airlines, including those in the United States, have already stopped flying to and from Venezuela because of the political upheaval. Now an worldwide financial chess match is afoot, between the USA and more than 50 countries backing Guaido as the country's legitimate interim president, and those nations aligned with Maduro. That's left Venezuela in a state of paralysis after years of hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

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